Dealing with stress and its symptoms

DEALING WITH STRESS AND ITS SYMPTOMS.

While unchecked stress is undeniably damaging, there are many things you can do to reduce its impact and cope with symptoms.

Cover of Learn How to Relax (CD edition)

Learn how to manage stress

You may feel like the stress in your life is out of your control, but you can always control the way you respond.  Managing stress is all about taking charge: taking charge of your thoughts, your emotions, your schedule, your environment, and the way you deal with problems.  Stress management involves changing the stressful situation when you can, changing your reaction when you can’t, taking care of yourself, and making time for rest and relaxation.

Learn how to relax

You can’t completely eliminate stress from your life, but you can control how much it affects you.  Relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, and deep breathing activate the body’s relaxation response, a state of restfulness that is the opposite of the stress response.  When practiced regularly, these activities lead to a reduction in your everyday stress levels and a boost in your feelings of joy and serenity.  They also increase your ability to stay calm and collected under pressure.

Learn quick stress relief

Everybody has the power to reduce the impact of stress as it’s happening in that moment.  With practice, you can learn to spot stressors and stay in control when the pressure builds.  Sensory stress-busting techniques give you a powerful tool for staying clear-headed and in control in the middle of stressful situations.  They give you the confidence to face challenges, knowing that you have the ability to rapidly bring yourself back into balance.